Having worked with AI since 2018, I’m watching its slow but steady pick-up alongside the unstructured bandwagon-jumping with considerable interest. Now that the initial fear has subsided somewhat about a robotic takeover, discussion about the ethics that will surround the integration of AI into everyday business structures has taken its place.
A whole new range of roles will be required to handle ethics, governance and compliance, all of which are going to gain enormous value and importance to organisations.
Probably the most essential of these will be an AI Ethics Specialist, who will be required to ensure Agentic AI systems meet ethical standards like fairness and transparency. This role will involve using specialised tools and frameworks to address ethical concerns efficiently and avoid potential legal or reputational risks. Human oversight to ensure transparency and responsible ethics is essential to maintain the delicate balance between data driven decisions, intelligence and intuition.
In addition, roles like Agentic AI Workflow Designer, AI Interaction and Integration Designer will ensure AI integrates seamlessly across ecosystems and prioritises transparency, ethical considerations, and adaptability. An AI Overseer will also be required, to monitor the entire Agentic stack of agents and arbiters, the decision-making elements of AI.
For anyone embarking on the integration of AI into their organisation and wanting to ensure the technology is introduced and maintained responsibly, I can recommend consulting the United Nations’ principles. These 10 principles were created by the United Nations in 2022, in response to the ethical challenges raised by the increasing preponderance of AI.
So what are these ten principles, and how can we use them as a framework?
First, do no harm
As befits technology with an autonomous element, the first principle focuses on the deployment of AI systems in ways that will avoid any negative impact on social, cultural, economic, natural or political environments. An AI lifecycle should be designed to respect and protect human rights and freedoms. Systems should be monitored to ensure that that situation is maintained and no long-term damage is being done.
Avoid AI for AI’s sake
Ensure that the use of AI is justified, appropriate and not excessive. There is a distinct temptation to become over-zealous in the application of this exciting technology and it needs to be balanced against human needs and aims and should never be used at the expense of human dignity.
Safety and security
Safety and security risks should be identified, addressed and mitigated
throughout the life cycle of the AI system and on an on-going basis. Exactly the same robust health and safety frameworks should be applied to AI as to any other area of the business.
Equality
Similarly, AI should be deployed with the aim of ensuring the equal and just distribution of the benefits, risks and cost, and to prevent bias, deception, discrimination and stigma of any kind.
Sustainability
AI should be aimed at promoting environmental, economic and social sustainability. Continual assessment should be made to address negative impacts, including any on the generations to come.
Data privacy, data protection and data governance
Adequate data protection frameworks and data governance mechanisms should be established or enhanced to ensure that the privacy and rights of individuals are maintained in line with legal guidelines around data integrity and personal data protection. No AI system should impinge on the privacy of another human being.
Human oversight
Human oversight should be guaranteed to ensure that the outcomes of using AI are fair and just. Human-centric design practises should be employed and capacity to be given for a human to step in at any stage and make a decision on how and when AI should be used, and to over-ride any decision made by AI. Rather dramatically but entirely reasonably, the UN suggests any decision affecting life or death should not be left to AI.
Transparency and Explainability
This, to my mind, forms part of the guidelines around equality. Everyone using AI should fully understand the systems they are using, the decision-making processes used by the system and its ramifications. Individuals should be told when a decision regarding their rights, freedoms or benefits has been made by artificial intelligence, and most importantly, the explanation should be made in a way that makes it comprehensible.
Responsibility and Accountability
This is the whistleblower principle, that covers audit and due diligence as well as protection for whistleblowers to make sure that someone is responsible and accountable for the decisions made by, and use of, AI. Governance should be put in place around the ethical and legal responsibility of humans for any AI-based decisions. Any of these decisions that cause harm should be investigated and action taken.
Inclusivity and participation
Just as in any other area of business, when designing, deploying and using artificial intelligence systems, an inclusive, interdisciplinary and participatory approach should be taken, which also includes gender equality. Stakeholders and any communities that are affected should be informed and consulted and informed of any benefits and potential risks.
Building your AI integration around these central pillars should help you feel reassured that your entry into AI integration is built on an ethical and solid foundation.
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash
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